Posted on 10/06/2017 7:49:05 AM PDT by gubamyster
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma are long gone, and despite dire predictions, they did not dampen the September jobs report in most key areas.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday said the labor force participation rate of 63.1 percent reached a high for the year in September, up two-tenths of a point from August.
The number of employed Americans reached 154,345,000 in September, setting a sixth record since January. As the number of employed Americans reached an all-time high, the number of unemployed Americans in September -- 6,801,000 -- hasn't been this low since May 2007.
The already low unemployment rate dropped another two-tenths of a point to 4.2 percent last month. That is the lowest since early 2001.
BLS noted that the recent hurricanes had "no discernible effect on the national unemployment rate."
The number of Americans not in the labor force declined a bit in September to 94,417,000. The record, set in the final full month of the Obama presidency, stands at 95,102,000 Americans not in the labor force.
Ad Feedback
On the negative side, BLS said no new jobs were added in September: In fact, BLS counts a job loss of 33,000, and it blamed the net effect of the two hurricanes for the negative jobs-added number.
BLS noted that a “steep” employment decline in food services and drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries likely reflected the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey. Employment rose in health care and in transportation and warehousing.
BLS said job gains have averaged 91,000 over the past three months.
And wages are going up: In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents to $26.55. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 74 cents, or 2.9 percent,, BLS said.
In September, the nation’s civilian noninstitutionalized population, consisting of all people age 16 or older who were not in the military or an institution, reached 255,562,000. Of those, 161,146,000 participated in the labor force by either holding a job or actively seeking one.
Ad Feedback
The 161,146,000 who participated in the labor force equaled 63.1 percent of the 255,562,000 civilian noninstitutionalized population.
Ahead of Friday’s report, President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday: “Stock Market hits an ALL-TIME high! Unemployment lowest in 16 years! Business and manufacturing enthusiasm at highest level in decades!”
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.9 percent) and Blacks (7.0 percent) declined in September. The jobless rates for adult women (3.9 percent), teenagers (12.9 percent), Whites (3.7 percent), Asians (3.7 percent), and Hispanics (5.1 percent) showed little change.
Okay, the Trump era is still kind of young. Let’s not get too excited about 9 month “highs.” Good, but wait a couple of years.
An unemployment rate of 4.2% is full employment.
A slight decline in Sept employment==
I think that is due to college & high school kids returning to school from their SUMMER jobs.
Our hard working younger generation in and out management have gotten raises, more time off and their bosses/owners really wanting to know what they need to be better at what they do.
That started after Trump was elected and has improved since he became president.
btt
I don't know. But I remember at one of his rallies a few months ago, POTUS remarked on his good job numbers at that time. He did say something like "these are the government numbers, but that's all we have to go by, so that's what we will use." Indicating he didn't really trust them, but it is what it is.
“My question regarding these statistics, is whether or not Trump’s folks have done away with the dishonest methods implemented under Obama. If not, then these numbers are questionable at best.”
Check! Is the rise in jobs including full time jobs with benefits, or more of the part time finagling (wow that was in the dictionary!) of the previous administration?
KYPD
Incidentally, I’m told there are plenty of federal jobs opening with the new fiscal year (10/1/17) at USA Jobs, the official website for federal employment openings.
If you’re out of work or took a crappy job just because you need to, now is a prime opportunity to upgrade your resume.
Yes, you have to work for the insane bureaucracy but it beats unemployment.
According to the A9 table here, we gained over 900,000 full time workers and around 81,000 part time workers. Even if the former is estimated on the high end, I'm not sure how that translates into a loss.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.